What Teams Will The Bulls Face In 2025? Meet The APHL

Bulls prepare for new faces

The Bulls are ready to drop the puck on Saturday, Sept. 27, for the team’s first preseason outing of the 2025-26 season.

In Wooster’s first season in the American Premier Hockey League (APHL), the road to the playoffs won’t be easy. They will meet up against six of the league’s nine teams, some familiar foes and other brand new faces to the APHL. 

Last year’s playoff seedings tell a strong story of tough matchups early in the season for the Bulls.

Eastern division opponents

Buffalo Tempest

The Tempest are the reigning champions of the APHL, taking home the Governor’s Cup in a win over the Summit City Distillers. They also boasted the APHL MVP award, with forward Johnny Bonta taking home the honor. Buffalo entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and proved why while being a battle-tested side. 

They will look to repeat in the 2025-26 season, with the Bulls being a bump in the road to get by. Wooster will see Buffalo in action for two different weekend series. The first will take place on Saturday, Dec. 27 and Sunday, Dec. 28, with the second coming two months later on Saturday, Feb. 14 and Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026.

Quick Facts:

• Tempest Founding Year: 2024

• Tempest Home Ice: Hyde Park Ice Pavilion

Iron City Forge

Pittsburgh’s got a tough side in the Iron City Forge. With the Bulls meeting up with them in their preseason opener in late September, both sides will get used to one another very fast. In the 2024-25 season, the team struggled at times, entering the playoffs in the last available spot as the No. 6 seed. They ultimately were taken down by the Summit City Distillers, who marched to an appearance in the title game.

Outside of the preseason clash, the two teams will meet up in one more preseason game on Saturday, Oct. 4. They will play in eight total regular season stints against one another, with six straight occurring from Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 through Sunday, Feb, 8. The final two games of both team’s regular season will be played on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8, 2026 against each other too.

Quick Facts:

• Forge Founding Year: 2024

• Forge Home Ice: Frozen Pond Arena

Ridgetown Royals and Thousand Island Raiders

Both the Royals and Raiders will enter their inaugural APHL season, just like the Bulls, bringing plenty of unknown to the schedule. These new teams will have plenty of unknown, but that unpredictability can also make them dangerous to the seasoned teams in the APHL.

The Bulls will meet the Royals twice, with the first meeting taking place on Saturday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Nov. 22. They will meet the Raiders on Saturday, Dec. 13, before taking a break and meeting back up on Saturday, Feb. 28. 

Quick Facts:

• Royals Founding Year: 2025

• Royals Home Ice: East Kent Memorial Arena

• Raiders Founding Year: 2025

• Raiders Home Ice: Cerow Recreation Park

Western division opponents

The Bulls will play the majority of their games against Eastern Conference opponents in the 2025-26 campaign, but will get a chance to meet up against two Western teams.

Toledo Mobsters

Being an in-state opponent, there's a real possibility for the Mobsters and Bulls to build a historical rivalry. In the previous year, Toledo was able to make the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, falling just a series short of an appearance in the championship. They were taken down by the Tempest, but showed that they could hang in with some of the toughest teams in the league.

The “Battle For Ohio” will begin on Saturday, Oct. 18, for the regular season opener at the Team Toledo Ice House for a clash between the Bulls and Mobsters. They will meet up yet again on Saturday, Nov. 1, Sunday, Dec. 14 and Saturday, Dec. 20. The two sides will not meet up after those four matchups for the remainder of the 2025-26 regular season.

Quick Facts:

• Mobsters Founding Year: 2024

• Mobsters Home Ice: Team Toledo Ice House

West Michigan Sentinels

One of the hottest teams in the APHL last season, the Sentinels, were upset in the semifinal round of the playoffs by the Distillers. With one of the best regular season records last season, they look to build upon success in the coming year. They combined a strong defense with a physical offense that threatened opposing teams on both ends. 

The Bulls will certainly have their work cut out from them in the limited meetings against the Sentinels, but with a just as physical roster being built by Head Coach Tim Sizemore, they look to level the playing field.

West Michigan and Wooster will meet up the weekend of Saturday, No. 8 and Sunday, Nov. 9 for two games, followed by the first matchups of 2026 on Saturday, Jan. 3 and Sunday, Jan. 4. 

Quick Facts:

• Sentinels Founding Year: 2023

• Sentinels Home Ice: Cedar Rock Sportsplex
  
  

Facing three of last year’s top six playoff seeds, including the defending champions in Buffalo, means no light challenge for the Bulls in adapting to the APHL. Although there will also be two new squads in the mix, they don’t have time to sit back and take any game for granted. As Wooster looks to carve out a path in the league, they certainly will get adapted to the new faces quickly.